Powerful Flames Men too strong for courageous Bearcats

It was a Saturday night to remember for Jerrell Sanders, who collected a mammoth 40 points to lead Norwood to a seven point victory over West Adelaide at the ARC Campbelltown

Accurate shooting, from inside and outside, was the difference in a fiery affair. The Webber Brothers collected 35 points and 13 assists for the Flames, whilst Dee Oldham went big for the visitors, with 30 points, eight rebounds, six steals and five assists.

The Flames were much faster out of the blocks, with Sanders daggering an early three to set the tone for his night. Harold Ridgeway (18 points, 10 rebounds) converted a strong rebound for the layup and one to steady the Bearcats, but a huge dunk from the Flames import saw the hosts take a 21-18 quarter time lead.

Benjamin Janssan (15 points) was utilised to great effect for Norwood. The substitute immediately impacted the match when he took the field, knocking down three maximums in a see-sawing second term that saw West Adelaide fight back in to the contest from eight points down, only to be denied half-time parity by an outrageous Sanders buzzer-beater from outside the arc under all-sorts of pressure.

With the score 43-40 entering the third term, the away side fired up. Plenty of lip could be heard from the players, but they were silenced by a tremendous rejection of Tristan Braithwaite by none other than the American import. Sanders already had 34 points late in the third, as the lead ballooned out to a game-high 15. Lachlan Haufe (11 points) put in a crucial triple for the Bearcats to help cut the deficit to an attainable 10 points, but they had plenty to do heading into the final quarter.

Norwood showed great work-rate to begin the fourth period, but Haufe was hot, and shot another two from range to close the gap to eight. His great work was soon undone though, as a poor pass from the West Adelaide youngster handed Sanders an easy dunk and re-established a 10-point buffer for the Flames. Norwood’s shooting was on another level, and the visitors were rarely able to get within touching distance in the last term as a result. The hosts trundled home on the back of yet another Jerrell Sanders special, running out 95-88 winners.

The brilliant win was just Norwood’s first of the season, and with a match-up at home against South Adelaide on Tuesday, the Flames will be confident in reaching a 2-2 record. Meanwhile, West Adelaide fall below their opponents on percentage, but will look to bounce back against the 2-1 Sturt Sabres in Port Adelaide on Anzac Day.

Round 4: Tuesday, 25 April at 3:15pm

Norwood vs South Adelaide @ ARC Campbelltown

West Adelaide vs Sturt @ Port Adelaide

Last Modified on 24/04/2017 10:43

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